Daytona Beach, FL
5/10/2000, 5:36 PM
By Zack Leonard
Gerard Loos and Mischa Heemskerk were not to be stopped to day. After a stellar start launched them 500 yards ahead of the fleet, the Dutch Duo extended their lead incrementally through patches of calm and a late filling sea-breeze to win Leg 3 by almost 18 minutes. The Dutch Duo have taken the overall lead from Smyth and are sailing with confidence and lot's of boat speed. "Gerard is going really well", said Brett Dryland of Team Rudee's, "He's the benchmark now." The fleet is slowly starting to break into a pecking order and several groups are becoming well formed. Smyth, The Aussie team of Dryland and Waterhouse, Loos and Heemskerk, Lohmeyer and Pierce, and Lambert and Livingston seem to enjoy a speed advantage over the second pack, but the racing has been fierce within the second pack as well.
The wind was fickle for much of the race today, starting Southwest, going West/Northwest, and finally filling in from the Southeast when the sea breeze asserted itself. Tactics and positioning were important today. Loos was well ahead from the start and made it around the point at Canaveral before a huge hole becalmed most of the fleet. Brian Lambert was stuck in the lull, "Jamie [Livingston] called it, he said 'I see love bugs', that means sea-breeze." The lovebugs are small, black flies that buzz around sailors in the calm before the sea-breeze fills. As the fleet approached the tip of Canaveral the current was running strong and the wind was stronger close to the shore, so the lead pack tacked up the shore. When the sea-breeze finally filled, many who had been leaders watched helplessly as the boats farther off shore sailed past with spinnakers flying.
Among the close contests in the second pack was a match race between Sandra Tartaglino and Carl Roberts of Team Guidant and Susan Korzeniewski and Davis Murray. Tartaglino is registered as a co-skipper in the event, but today's leg was her first turn at the helm. Korzeniewski and Tartaglino sailed much of the day close together in the same pack. "We actually waved to them", said Korzeniewski, "we had them and then we didn't cover. It's great to sail against her though." Both teams improved today to finish mid-fleet. As did Scott Hubel and wife Dior. Scott said "we saw the wind shift and positioned ourselves well for it and when the wind filled we were flying." Dior added "We stayed upright, big improvement."
The fatigue is just beginning to set in. The first three legs have been short. Today's leg was the longest at 6:27:46 for the winner. This morning the faces looked tired as they poked out of hotel rooms to check the wind at the beach. The party at Coconuts didn't go too late, but tonight's social will likely be even shorter. Kevin Smith said, "I'm getting over the initial pain. Now my arms are starting to get tired." Most sailors don't get the chance to sail for 6 hours straight, without rest. The bumps, bruises and muscle soreness brought on by intense exposure and grinding physical abuse hit hard the first couple days. Then you become hard. Muscles become accustomed to what's asked of them, calluses form on hands, necks and faces become red/brown from the sun and the mind learns that if it wanders, the body pays extra recovering from a capsize. After the hardening process the race becomes a long slow drain on strength and focus. The body is hard, but each day takes another ingot from the reserve. The mind is tough, but 12 or 14 hour legs will test it.
Look for a morning report from Daytona beach as the fleet begins leg 4 and heads towards Jacksonville Beach. The breeze should be back on from the East and another fast leg may be in store.
The word of the day for Mrs. Hast's class is Turtle.
